Nine-Day Total : 111 Miles

During a recent nine-day period, I rode:
       32 miles on a Cascade Training Series ride
                 but I got separated from my partner  :(
       3 miles to and from yoga
       7 miles, from Montlake, via the UW campus
      39 miles, Marymoor Park and back
      30 miles on another Cascade Training Series ride

But, I need to up the mileage.  Tomorrow, my partner and I are going to attempt a 50-mile ride, I with my
      trusty Trek, he with his new bike

And I'm going to try to move my avg. speed on the flat up to 13 mph.

Went to AAA the other day, got a map of Iowa, and circled all the small towns we'll be going through.  I'm excited!  Did you know that Washta, Iowa, advertises itself (on their website) as "the coldest spot in Iowa"? Also, its name came into being when a local Native American indicated his approval about a pioneer's gun by saying "Wash-ta, washta" (again, according to their website).  It has a park that sounds beautiful--the Little Sioux River and Ranney Knob Park (BTW, what is a Ranney Knob?). 

More later. 

Test Ride

My partner and I are getting ready for the Cascade Training Series, a group of rides organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club, for riders who have large goals such as the STP (Seattle to Portland), or the RAW (Ride Around Washington), or, in our case, RAGBRAI. The series starts next Saturday, March 20, so on Sunday, we went on a ride to practice some of the things we've learned in the last couple of weeks about group riding, such as--

1) Through Cascade's GEARs (group riding class), we learned that we should ride SMART--
S - Stay attentive
M - Move out of the road or path if you have to stop
A - Act like a car
R - Retain distance between your bike and the others' bikes
T - Talk to people on the ride, to tell them what you're doing, both by wrods
and hand signals.

Also, at GEARS, we learned that every time we ride, we should check
A - Air pressure in the tires
B - Brakes to make sure they work
C - Chains to see that all is well
Q - Quick releases, to make sure that they're in the right positions.

And we learned where to ride in the road, with relationship to cars, how to
go through an intersection on a group ride, how to scan behind our bikes for
cars, and how to "flick" our front wheels to avoid small obstacles that we spot
at the last minute.

At REI on Tuesday evening, we learned from a professional cycling coach from Cycle U
that the first half hour after a long ride is the time when a rider should eat, a rider should try to maintain even and consistent pedal pressure throughout each circular stroke, and hill-climbing is easier when a rider has a hill-climbing mantra, such as "I was born to climb!" or "I love to climb!" BTW, this last piece of advice helps!

On Sunday, wearing several layers of clothing, we set out on the Burke Gilman Trail, where our first stop, near Magnuson, included a close-up view of two eagles sunning themselves next to Lake Washington (picture #1) and another of morning rowers (#2). Next stop, Le Fournil Bakery in Eastlake, where we had to buy an extra almond croissant, because I forgot to take a picture of the first one (#3). These are the awesomest croissants on the north end of Seattle. Then we proceeded on to Golden Gardens--the sailboats in the marina were backed by the snowy Olympics (#4). On the way back, we stopped at the Fremont Farmer's Market, where we bought a bouquet of flowers and farm-fresh mizuma.

No major incidents. My partner's chain became disengaged a couple of times, but the fix was quick, both times.

Ride total: 31 miles.

Brekkie in Woodinville

Last week my partner and I rode out to Woodinville, for huckleberry pancakes at the Barking Frog Restaurant. Since the restaurant is only 13 miles from home, and I wanted to make sure we had a ride of at least 30 miles for the day, I suggested that we ride on a bit farther, before breakfast.

So we went a bit farther, and my partner's front tire blew. Not the tube, the tire itself! The tire suddenly looked like it was developing a bad case of extreme acne and then--POP!--no more riding possible for him.

Of course we first turned back to the restaurant, where we had a lovely huckleberry-laced breakfast. Then on we went to Woodinville (I rode, he walked) to a bike shop that didn't have the armadillo tires that he wanted (but he did order them, to be installed a few days later). Off we went for a new adventure--a walk to the Woodinville Park and Ride, where we caught a bus home, with our bikes mounted on the front. The upside to doing that is that we now know how to ride the bus with our bikes, and thus our repertoire of possible rides is expanded.

The busted tire wasn't the only thing not working. My camera battery was dead. If I'd had my camera, I would've taken a picture of the horse on the Burke Gilman trail, another of the luscious pancakes, and, finally, one of our bikes on the front of the bus--picture these in your mind, so that you don't miss out.

And finally, I'm not blogging a lot, but I am riding a lot, mostly for errands. These days I don't get tired unless my ride is at least 25 miles. For example, last week, I rode once to Ballard and once back. I rode to the University and back. I recently rode to Capital Hill for a medical appointment--round trip, 25 miles. Tomorrow I have another one in the same location, and I'll ride again. In general, I'm blogging only about the special rides. But my frequent shorter rides are helping me prepare for Ragbrai.

This coming weekend, I'll take a class in group riding, offered by Cascade Bicycle Club.